Home Business Forums - Online Business Forums

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Ordinarily, "pump-and-jump" posting is not permitted in these forums — and, strictly-speaking, Danny's post would qualify as a "pump-and-jump" post.

But, quite honestly, the content at the other end of the link above is so extensive, so thorough and so darned good that no moderator in their right mind would even consider limiting access to it. If your interest is in online marketing and selling (yes, they're NOT the same thing, but they share a complementary, cause-and-effect relationship), then I strongly recommend that you make Danny's excellent Guide an essential part of your education.

I also suggest that you think even more broadly than online if your business offers live training or off-line services.

I've used influencer marketing since the 1970s and it flat-out WORKS — in the right circumstances.

If you want to seriously engage the attention of your target audience, you can advertise to them… which can be costly and wasteful if you use mass media like newspapers, radio, television, magazines and outdoor (like billboards).

Depending on the nature of your business — and theirs — you may be able to more tightly target your chosen audience through direct response advertising, including direct mail, fax and email blasts, outbound telemarketing and other methods that rely on high-quality, well-maintained lists that you build or rent.

And again, depending on the nature of your business, you can enlist the active support of key professional service providers to reach your target audience, raising awareness and credibility for you and your business at the same time.

A real-life example from my own business:

Type of business: Small Business Marketing Consultancy, Training and Publishing.

The target audience in my home city of Melbourne, Australia (population 4.5 million) was approximately 400,000 small business owners. But we knew, from existing research results into Small Business attitudes to training for owners, that only 10% of them were likely to be interested, and of those only 10% would be positive toward our offer.

So I decided on a three-stage process of qualifying/disqualifying prospects…

A series of 2-hour seminars on How to Survive and Thrive in Small Business (which would also appeal to people thinking of starting or buying a small business as well). Price: $30.00 per person. Bonus offer: a FREE book entitled "Don't Go Into Small Business Until You Read This Book!" (retail value: $20.00)

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The seminars — for up to 1,000 people — were scheduled for 10 different locations around the city.

The content of the seminar was educational and promotional (mainly via the 24-page Workbook and the free bonus book — 184 pages).

The projected costs of advertising, printing, venue hire and refreshments was around $400,000.

It was decided to use influencer marketing to defray these costs and to leverage promotion for increased awareness and credibility in the minds and hearts of prospective attendees.

A list of sponsors was identified and approached. Depending on the type of services/support they each provided, the sponsorship was based on either an exchange of cash or goods/services for advertising space (double-page advertorial) and back cover of the seminar workbooks, plus sponsor banners or displays at the events.

News Corp Suburban Newspapers — 38 regional newspapers ran a series of 3 "junior page" ads (half-page display ads turned sideways so they dominated the pages — no other half-page or even quarter-page ads could be run on those pages) for the seminars, plus flyers with the same ads included in advertisers' mailed invoices and statements for two months before the events. The newspapers were credited as the major sponsor, and the seminar tickets and workshop tickets were promoted at half the regular price, thanks to subsidising by the newspapers.

The value of the advertising support: $350,000

Another bonus for the newspapers was two free workshops by me for the Group's advertising sales teams to help them improve exposure and support for increasing advertising purchases by small businesses attending the seminars and workshops, and training in how to create better briefs for their creative staff in creating more effective advertising. (No ads can ever be better than the quality of the client briefs, which are typically very low quality and poorly-targeted — or non-existent — in local suburban newspapers.)

The State Small Business Development Corporation (State Government authority) — promotional support in the Corporation's regional offices, publications, newsletters, displays, websites, mailings, etc. This sponsorship was a major credibility factor in the perception of our target audience. No money involved.

The #1-Rating Talk Radio Station — Promoted the seminars, including recorded and live interviews with me discussing typical small business advertising issues and how the seminars could help small business owners obtain bigger, better, faster results from their advertising — especially radio ads. No money involved. Estimated value of airtime: $30,000.

The #2 Mobile Telephone and Internet Company in Australia — Sponsorship of $5,000.

The Australian Small Business Network — A division of The Profit Clinic. Subscriber mailing list… we targeted only the Melbourne members via email.

Microsoft — Sponsorship of $5,000.

Melbourne City Business Network — promotion to its extensive member list.

Australian Society of CPAs — Promotion to its Melbourne Membership… professional advisors to small business owners. Promotion to their clients.

Business East — a State and Local Government business support initiative in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. Promotion to member list.

Enterprise West — a State and Local Government business support initiative in Melbourne's western suburbs. Promotion to member list.

Dynamic Small Business Magazine — Australia's #1 ranked small business monthly magazine. Editorial and advertising support.

124-page Paperback book: "Don't Go Into Small Business Until You Read This Book!"

This was a moderated collection of articles written by me in various small business magazines over the previous few years. The nominal retail price was $25.00. Actual unit cost for printing and binding: $1.85 each.

This book went on to become the fastest-selling small business book in Australia — and required reading in business schools in several Asia-Pacific countries. Now out of print, it can be read online, free of charge, at http://profitclinic.com.au/dontgo/.

The Seminars proved highly-successful, creating ongoing demand for the workshops and for the paperback book. The project later extended to country Victoria (my home State) and to capital cities in four other States of Australia.

Total seminar attendances exceeded 25,000 small business owners, advisors and prospective owners. An unexpected surprise was the number of prospective small business entreprebeurs who told us that they'd postponed or abandoned their planned start-ups or purchases after the seminars because they realised that they simply weren't properly prepared and would have failed disastrously.

Total workshop (2 evenings) attendees exceeded 3,000 — more than TEN TIMES our original target.

Total book sales (following the seminars) exceeded 50,000.

All costs were covered by sponsorships and seminar ticket sales, several times over.